Antique revolver suggestion for frequent use

As much a I love my Colt SAs, if you were to ask me which gun in the collection is the stoutest/strongest and gives you the
As much a I love my Colt SAs, if you were to ask me which gun in the collection is the stoutest/strongest and gives you the Dirty Harry of the West " make my day vibe" its the Remington 1875. Its built like a tank, incredibly fun to shoot, especially with black powder loads.

This is mine chambered in 44 Remington(44 Russian fits) with what I believe to be its original holster.

View attachment 963396
As much a I love my Colt SAs, if you were to ask me which gun in the collection is the stoutest/strongest and gives you the Dirty Harry of the West " make my day vibe" its the Remington 1875. Its built like a tank, incredibly fun to shoot, especially with black powder loads.

This is mine chambered in 44 Remington(44 Russian fits) with what I believe to be its original holster.

View attachment 963396

Dirty Harry of the West " make my day vibe" its the Remington 1875. Its built like a tank, incredibly fun to shoot, especially with black powder loads.

This is mine chambered in 44 Remington(44 Russian fits) with what I believe to be its original holster.
Wasnt the 44 Remington CF case dimensionally smaller than the 44 Russian?The Neck and base diameters were about .010" smaller and the rim was about .0350" smaller than the 44 Russian?
Wasn't the 44 Remington cf actually 46 caliber?
 
Wasnt the 44 Remington CF case dimensionally smaller than the 44 Russian?The Neck and base diameters were about .010" smaller and the rim was about .0350" smaller than the 44 Russian?
Wasn't the 44 Remington cf actually 46 caliber?
Remington 44 CF case length(at least according to Wikipedia) is longer( 27.1mm vs 24.6mm) than 44 Russian. Cases for 44 Colt(28 mm length) will also chamber in my gun , 44-40 (33mm length) will not. If you mean smaller by case diameter, I am not sure maybe. Nonetheless, 44 Russian cases and 44 Colt cases fit my chamber with the appropriate heeled projectile. 44 Colt is closer in case volume to 44 Remington CF brass but harder to source than 44 Russian. 44 S&W special brass might also work and be easier to source. I use a steel mold from Buffalo Arms (447250) that was designed for 44 Remington CF receiver. It throws a .447 diameter 250 grain RNFP bullet that tapers to .429 at the base. I use soft lead as this gives the projectile a chance to "bump up" into the generous forcing cone diameter of ~.448 inches. This gives reasonable accuracy. I also typically crimp the brass.

44_Rem_CF_dimensions.jpg
 
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Remington 44 CF case length(at least according to Wikipedia) is longer( 27.1mm vs 24.6mm) than 44 Russian. Cases for 44 Colt(28 mm length) will also chamber in my gun , 44-40 (33mm length) will not. If you mean smaller by case diameter, I am not sure maybe. Nonetheless, 44 Russian cases and 44 Colt cases fit my chamber with the appropriate heeled projectile. 44 Colt is closer in case volume to 44 Remington CF brass but harder to source than 44 Russian. 44 S&W special brass might also work and be easier to source. I use a steel mold from Buffalo Arms (447250) that was designed for 44 Remington CF receiver. It throws a .447 diameter 250 grain RNFP bullet that tapers to .429 at the base. I use soft lead as this gives the projectile a chance to "bump up" into the generous forcing cone diameter of ~.448 inches. This gives reasonable accuracy. I also typically crimp the brass.

View attachment 963822
The 44 Remington was supposed to be smaller dimensionally than 44 Colt which like I posted earlier dimensionally different than 44 Russian.
My impression is that Remington tolerances were all over the place for chambers. I've heard of a guy who could load 44 Colt in his 44 Remington but you being able to load 44 Russian I don't think is common?

I'm not trolling so don't take me wrong way. I love these old guns. I used to own a reproduction 1875 in 44wcf.and I regret selling it. I've been looking hard at originals.
The problem with Remington 1875 in my opinion was the rimfire chambers. Then when they did chamber in center fire they apparently kept that oversized 46 cal barrel . Chamber dimensions and throats or leads in the cylinder seem to be oversized depending on caliber.
So to buy one used. Even if local. Chances are the seller isn't going to let you slug the barrel.
You can buy purpose 44 Remington mould through I think old west bullet molds and I have the name of a guy here somewhere that used to sell 44 Colt brass. Haha but exchange of dollars and tarrifs. Wow this would get expensive
 
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The 44 Remington was supposed to be smaller dimensionally than 44 Colt which like I posted earlier dimensionally different than 44 Russian.
My impression is that Remington tolerances were all over the place for chambers. I've heard of a guy who could load 44 Colt in his 44 Remington but you being able to load 44 Russian I don't think is common?

I'm not trolling so don't take me wrong way. I love these old guns. I used to own a reproduction 1875 in 44wcf.and I regret selling it. I've been looking hard at originals.
The problem with Remington 1875 in my opinion was the rimfire chambers. Then when they did chamber in center fire they apparently kept that oversized 46 cal barrel . Chamber dimensions and throats or leads in the cylinder seem to be oversized depending on caliber.
So to buy one used. Even if local. Chances are the seller isn't going to let you slug the barrel.
You can buy purpose 44 Remington mould through I think old west bullet molds and I have the name of a guy here somewhere that used to sell 44 Colt brass. Haha but exchange of dollars and tarrifs. Wow this would get expensive
Even for the fact that the 1875s are somewhat overlooked by collectors in favor of Colt SAs they are not exactly common(especially in 44 Remington CF) in Canada. Honestly if you come across one locally and its in semi decent mechanical condition I would not quibble too much about Remington's history with less than precise chamberings. I would just try to figure it out on the backend with your ammo. If one is looking for more of a precision antique hand shooter I would personally suggest a Webley WG. I have one of those too but nonetheless can't overstate how much like my 1875 :)
 
There are 1875s around. I haven’t
Even for the fact that the 1875s are somewhat overlooked by collectors in favor of Colt SAs they are not exactly common(especially in 44 Remington CF) in Canada. Honestly if you come across one locally and its in semi decent mechanical condition I would not quibble too much about Remington's history with less than precise chamberings. I would just try to figure it out on the backend with your ammo. If one is looking for more of a precision antique hand shooter I would personally suggest a Webley WG. I have one of those too but nonetheless can't overstate how much like my 1875 :)
There are 1875s around. I haven’t looked this week but there was one in Edmonton. Another in BC and a third in Manitoba.
I think they never took off years ago because anyone into big single actions was into colts. The 73 colts had the grip, big black powder cylinder pin,interchangeably parts, and consistent chamber - barrel groove-bore sizes and better ejector.
I believe the colt p model was best black powder gunfight gun ever. The new model 3 S&W probably my first choice as target pistol. But I like those Remingtons to (Smile). Colts are crazy expensive! Heck who knows. In a few years everything will probably be outlawed and seized by government the way we are going.
 
Even though it's expensive, I'd vote for the c96.

You can have it rebored to 9mm, or buy a spare upper in 9mm for it. Then you can shoot factory 9mm (not +p) safely. I actually have replaced all the parts on it and kept the originals safely locked away to maintain the history of the pistol.

I've put about a thousand through mine now with no issues.

I sold my collection of my favorite rifles, the Remington 600, so my son would have a chance to be able to own and shoot a semi auto handgun in his lifetime. Well worth the 13k invesment in my view.
 
I was thinking about doing something kind of similar too. I was thinking about selling my Colt collection to buy a C96. It would hurt to turn 11 Colt revolvers into 1 Mauser semi-auto pistol but after trying out a C96, I will admit it’s more fun to shoot than any of the Colts. So maybe I’ll do it, for my kiddo…..
 
Yeah if it started life as an antique the webley mentioned above are commonly shaved to fire 45 acp I believe and it’s legal. Or is it a cylinder replacement? Either way someone here knows.

As for my colts, I made paper cartridges in my spare time with a kit I got online, I dipped my cartridges in a home made wax solution so technically the wheel was already greased so to speak, and I brought a small tin of wax with me and if I wasn’t happy with that seal I would smudge a little more in but to be honest if you size the round ball properly you won’t have chain fires even without greasing the wheel. I never had a malfunction, not a single issue, but that’s equally a testament to single actions in general.
I used to roll Zig Zag 'whites' around the loaded business end of a 458 Winchester magnum.
Easy peasy to get then molded right.
Better for bigger bores...maybe a smaller round for a revolver bore stuff.
 
Hi all.

I'm into antiques and am looking for a full size centerfire cartridge type revolver that will take the "abuse" of firing regularly without too much issue. Please kindly post a suggestion if you have (or directly know someone who has) personal experience firing it, not just owning it. If you have notes about availability for reloading components for a specific revolver that is helpful info to share as well! Eg. does your example require that you have to cut your own brass or pour your own lead?


Update from Feb 29 2024 - this has got way more replies than anticipated! Thank you so much for everyone's valuable input. I am now compiling a list of everyone's recommendations below. Maybe someone new to the scene will find it useful. Those who are reading this for the first time and have experience to input, please post your replies and I will continue to add them up!


Note to those that are looking at getting an antique since the handgun transfer ban: The guns on this list are all, first and foremost, antique collectors items and history pieces. They can fail or break at any time, even if they have been looked over. This post also is not intended to encourage the use of modern factory ammunition in black powder antiques.


Listed below are the models of centerfire revolver that have been suggested. They are sorted in order of appearance in this thread. Noted beside the revolver model is the number of people that have recommended it in this thread.


S&W No. 3 (all varieties) - II

Colt SAA (41 LC) - II

Webley* - VI

French MAS 1873 - I

French 1892 (Lebel) - II

Swiss 1882 - II

German 1883 Reichsrevolver** - I



* Webley note: 45ACP conversions are common and often lead to people firing full power smokeless loads. This WILL result in damage/stretched frame over time.

** German 1883 Reichsrevolver note: one owner reports firing ~250 modern "cowboy action" smokeless loads in his example with zero issues and has taken measurements to verify no frame stretching
+1 Colt
 
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